The UK government has been accused of running a “scaremongering propaganda campaign” as some of its own Conservative backbench MPs slammed the reintroduction of COVID-19 restrictions following the detection of the Omicron variant. The House of Commons on Tuesday passed new measures proposed by the government, under which face coverings must be worn in shops…

The UK’s economic bounce-back faltered in July despite pandemic restrictions being lifted, as businesses were caught by the “pingdemic” and materials shortages. Official statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.1 percent in the month of July. In June, that figure was 1 percent. The UK…

Under pressure from businesses and unions, the UK government has dialled down its COVID-19 app in order to ease the labour shortage that has resulted from large numbers of workers having to self-isolate. As a result of a government review, the app will now instruct fewer people to self-isolate following contact with a person who…

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has challenged the Government to match Wales by bringing forward the date on which fully vaccinated people in England can avoid isolation. Wales’s Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford has confirmed August 7 as the day when double-jabbed adults can escape isolation if they come into contact with a positive coronavirus…

Discontent with the government’s self-isolation policy is growing as food industry bosses condemned changes to ease the “pingdemic” as “worse than useless,” hospitality leaders warned of a summer of closures, and train operators were forced to cut services. There were increasing calls for Boris Johnson to bring forward his wider relaxation of quarantine rules for…